36 County Rural Resort Hotel camping | Road trip | Easter 2021 | Day 3

This campground is belongs to one of the better ones we have visited, perfect for long weekend trip from Shanghai and in proximity of Qiandao lake

Check out the review

Petri 大P

Writing about our travels in the vast land of China by RV with passion to do the difficult way

This 36 County Rural Resort Hotel camping place is a good choice if you want to visit Qiandao Lake and need a place to stay overnight. The only problem is the distance, which is about 50km.

After spending the day at Qiandao Lake needed to head for the campsite, which is 54km from the ferry terminal. The road was not the best, and it started to get dark and late. Luckily the campsite was open, and the staff was amicable and welcomed us. Check passports and exit/entry stamps + green code in the app.

Different electrical socket types used in China, from 10A-16A

Luckily we had different socket types with us while camping — A minor headache with the electricity connection occurred, but finally, we found the correct socket. Reminder, there are three socket standards in China. Currents are 10A to 16A, depending on the socket.

No water tap is available at the parking location, but the security guard pointed out a filling station for the water. To our surprise, they had dig water pipes on Sunday, and we could fill the RV without moving it. Thumbs up!!

Two other RVs had been parking here, but as it was so late, we did not want to bother them. Around 20:00 hrs, the camp was set, and quickly BBQ was on. We used one-time use BBQ, one of the best we have used and provided by the rental company. I have tested many types earlier, and the price is only about 40CNY/pcs. If interested, my wife is selling those.

After a well-slept night, we took a walk around the campsite. This place is clean and has some bamboo forest in the surroundings. Many trailers and cottages are in the area for rental. Large swimming pool in the middle of the camping site, but as we were there off-season, it was empty. According to personnel, this place will have many people swimming during peak season. Today it was quiet as the fellow RV campers also left.

Notice that 300m from the main gate, a new water park has been built, and I suspect it will be ready summer of 2021.

I have been practicing together with my daughter to fly with the drone, but many times forgot to push the record button 🙁 Therefore the videos are pretty short. I even “took” some campsite videos from above, but the file is missing. Maybe it never existed. Well, practice and learning from mistakes are what makes life enjoyable.

36 County Rural Resort Hotel Camping

Short video of the surroundings. As seen in the video, the water park is very close.

This is a tranquil place, and there are not many shops or restaurants in proximity so prepare some food/snacks if you don’t want to drive out.

You can have some breakfast in the main building. On weekends it is buffet type, and on weekdays, they will bring you some to your table. It was a bit pricey, but the buffet and the weekday breakfast did not leave you hungry. The price was 56CNY/person.

Welcome to 36 County Hotel camping — Welcome to 36 Rural resort camping

Afternoon we walked around the 36 County Rural Resort Hotel, camping in surrounding areas. Not so much to see, some houses and a small groceries shop with basic stuff (a good section of cigarettes and liqueur). The small shop we visited was a sleepy local shop with a granny sitting and watching us. Locally-made honey was also available, but as we already have honey from Xi’an, we passed on this one. We took a quick tour of the bamboo forest and found some roots we would use later at dinner. I asked locals for permission to pick, and this was OK if I did not pick up too many. Also, one camping staff helped to find additional smaller roots and was eager to show us where to pick. This was inside the camping, so you could get roots easily for cooking if needed.

You have several choices for camping at 36 County Rural Resort Hotel, so let’s go through them one by one.

This could be an option instead of staying at Qiandao Lake hotels.

First of all, staying with own RV/motor home.

Price was alright with 200CNY/day, including water/electricity and facilities. The parking was beside an extensive grassland, and you would need a long extension cord for connection if several RVs at camping. You can take out your camping table, sit outside, and watch the kids play.

The Colorful hotel on top of the hill.

This hotel was made from containers, and the rooms were spacious and friendly. Big terrace on the backside for morning coffee or a beer in the evening. Some small activities, like a pool table, are available in the basement. We know that the price is off-season, which is 500-600CNY/night.

The next one is the lodging houses.

These rooms are very spacious, and all of them have different themes. There are family rooms, farmer rooms, and so on. It is worth mentioning that each has a balcony and private front yard with a fence around it. Each house has two separate rooms for two families. The quality was superb and very friendly. The pricing varies; we only have the off-season price, which would be around 700-2100CNY/day. The swimming pool is just beside and easy to access.

The trailer park is populated with KNAUS trailers.

The quality should be on the better side. Depending on your needs, there are a couple of different sizes and bed arrangements, so you need to check them out. In front of the caravan, you have plenty of space for breakfast if you want to eat outside. All caravans have A/C, cooking possibilities, and showers/toilets. The price is off-season and goes with 300-500CNY/day price tag.

Dinner time after a long day and cooking the fresh veggies

The evening came quickly, and I prepared some dinner with fresh bamboo roots. As usual, it is not the lightest dinner, but it tastes so good to eat outside, without the noise of Shanghai’s busy streets. We always prepare easy-to-cook and prepared foods, sausage, spaghetti, tuna, and salads. You can always visit local restaurants (if there are any) if you want to have some changes.

Veggies, meat, mayo, margarine, and other stuff crammed.

We always prepare easy-to-cook and prepared foods, sausage, spaghetti, tuna, and salads. You can always visit local restaurants (if there are any) if you want to have some changes. Avoid any food supplies that need to be cold all the time.

This usually is how our refrigerator looks when starting the trip.